It’s Hump Day! Sam hosts independent journalist Erin Reed to discuss the recent spate of anti-trans bills working their way through state legislatures across the country. Then they’re joined by Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, to discuss Syr...

It’s Hump Day! Sam and Emma host Amy Wilentz, Professor of Literary Journalism at the University of California Irvine and contributing editor at The Nation, to discuss her recent piece in The Nation entitled ”Haiti, April 2023: Soon There Will Be No One Left to Kidnap.” Then, they’re joined by Dj...

It’s an All Calls Casual Friday! Sam is back from sunny Florida after his appearance on the PBD Podcast. Him and Emma are then joined by comedian Andy Kindler, host of the Thought Spiral podcast! First, they run through updates on a Jan 6 insurrectionist launching a defamation case against Fox fo...

It’s Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news. Then they are joined by Judy Gold, host of the Kill Me Now podcast! First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the devastating earthqua...

Emma hosts Anastasia Curwood, Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, to discuss her recent book Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics. Then, she’s joined by labor and politics reporter Cole Stangler, to discuss the recent worker protests in France.  First, Emma ...

Sam and Emma are joined by Sen. Nina Turner, candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 11th District to give an update from the campaign trail. Then, they are joined by Ben Dixon of The Benjamin Dixon Show to round up the week in news. Lastly, comedian David Cross joins the MR Crew ahead of his new comedy...

Emma hosts Peter Robison, investigative journalist at Bloomberg, to discuss his recent book Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing, on the deregulation and the turn to serve the shareholders exclusively that lead up to a six month period a few years ago that saw multiple plane c...

Sam and Emma break down what’s to come in the week in news, from the reconciliation negotiations on the Hill, to updates on labor, the courts, and climate. They begin by covering the religious reaction to Universal Pre-K’s non-discrimination requirement, and the news that September was a record-b...

Michael Brooks hosts Djene Bajalan (@djenebajalan), Assistant Professor of Middle East History at Missouri State University, to discuss how Covid-19 is affecting the Middle East and how the virus will leave its mark on geopolitics.

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day show, Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) returns to discuss her new book On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.

Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon), host of the Benjamin Dixon Show, and comedian and filmmaker Tim Heidecker (@timheidecker) join us for Casual Friday.

The MR crew breaks down the news.

Joining correspondent Michael Brooks on today’s program is Steven A. Cook (@stevenacook), the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss the status of America’s Syria withdrawal and how Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and John Bolton’s ...

The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) joins the show today to discuss the evolution of the Syrian conflict. Iran’s attempts to stabilize the region with in ways favorable to themselves.

Journalist and author Max Blumenthal explains the Western drive for a “clash of civilizations” and the why of the rise of neofascist candidates in Western politics. The Obama era and the national security state. The proxy war in Syria. Multiple war crimes by all factions in Syria. Is history repe...

Fox News celebrates the dropping of the “Mother of all Bombs” in Afghanistan. Trump’s new move against transparency as protesters demand Trump release his tax returns. Turkey moves closer to dictatorship. Sassy Trump captures the essence of Trump’s call for airstrikes in Syria. Trump blunders thr...

Cliff Schecter explains the incoherence military action in Syria. Where are the “moderate” rebels? What we can actually accomplish in terms of helping refugees. Why Trump can’t lead a war. The medias relentless failure to cover Syria and why we need to vigilant. Farred Zakaria pathetically calls ...

Deven Nunes out on the Intelligence Committee and replaced by someone who might be worse and more on Fox’s sexual harassment culture.

Neil Gorsuch will be approved for the Supreme Court. Jeff Merkley, calls out the Republicans for stealing a Supreme Court seat. Chemical weapons attack in Syria. Russia’s unlikely explanation. Trump has no plan on North Korea. Will Democrats win Tom Price’s House seat. Still no deal on the Republ...

Donald Trump ignores a question from CNN and calls the reporter “fake news”. Will the media defend itself against Trump.

The lack of objective in US “jihadi” terror shootings. The instrumentalism of religion by ISIS leaders, and why it’s a mistake to assume they are truly pious. How Donald Trump is playing a role that helps ISIL. Why Bill O’Reilly is wrong about how defeating ISIS works and saying they’re the “same...

On today’s show, we’re joined first by Steven A. Cook (@stevenacook) to talk the Syrian ceasefire. Cook is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East & Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. (11:15)

Steven A. Cook is on to discuss the Saudi perspective on current turmoil in the region as a “status-quo” power(5:50). Why the Saudis see the Iranians as meddling. The power and hypocrisy of the House of Saud and its support of radical ideologies(9:33). Why the House of Saud and Wahabi radicals ar...

Jeb Bush claims that he is winning by losing. Bernie Sanders and the data breach controversy. Democrats focus on Donald Trump at the Democratic Debate and ignores the rest of the Republican crazies. Bernie and Hillary clash on regime change. Hillary’s conflicted policy on Syria. The problem with ...

HuffPostLive Host and Producer Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani, explains how Republican rhetoric creates a context for American terrorism. The attacks on Planned Parenthood and the lack of accountability for demonizing women’s health providers. Is Turkey backing Isis? The incoherence of the West’s Sy...

Juan Cole of Informed Comment Blog and author of The New Arabs , explains why Turkey’s Justice Development Party won big in yesterdays elections. Why President Erdogan is getting more authoritarian and rigid. Why Erdogan is campaigning against the Kurds and the why of Turkey’s interventions in Sy...

Blogger Digby explains how far right the political norm on the Right is now. Why Republican candidates think we are living in a dystopia. Why anti immigrant Republicanism will continue to undermine the Republican Party. Republicans don’t understand foreign policy but they are afraid. When Carly F...

On today’s M&M Tuesday, M&M take your phone calls on Trump’s staying power, Bill Maher’s absurd comments on Syrian refugees and Europe. And also Sam Harris tries to make sense on racial profiling and still does not.

Professor Juan Cole explains how the climate crisis in Syria helped create the conditions that led to the creation of ISIL. Sea level rises and the next wave of instability in the Middle East. The importance of water in Israel/Palestine. Why Martin O’Malley’s recent comments on climate change and...

Kayvon Afshari the Communications Director the Director of Communications for the American Iranian Council and host of the Mideast show, explains why the P5+! negotiations with Iran are taking so long, the importance of staying focused on the nuclear issue, the broader diplomatic opportunities an...

Journalist Rafia Zakaria, author of the new book The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan, explains the role of policing gender and sex in the creation of modern Pakistan. Women’s narratives and understanding what is the Pakistani State. The complexity of Benazir Bhutto and the modern c...

Politico Reporter and author of Big Money: 2.5 Billion Dollars, One Suspicious Vehicle, and a Pimp—on the Trail of the Ultra-Rich Hijacking American Politics, Ken Vogel explains the rise of the scam PAC. Shaun McCutcheon, scam PAC pioneer and the man who helped kill campaign finance controls. Why...

The largest day of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, why the White House is waving its own rules on civilian casualties, the death toll in Iraq and Syria, who is profiting from the new Middle East war, Iraqi Army drops ammo and food for ISIS fighters by mistake, new stunning Secret Service failures, ...

The Koch funded  Americans For Prosperity mails out hundred of thousands of dishonest voter guides, local news bury’s the lead, Bill O’Reilly offended by Stephen Colbert mocking his global fighting force idea, O’Reilly says Colbert has nothing useful to say, American troops will stay in Afghanist...

Professor and writer Vijay Prashad explains the context for the rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the myth of sectarian violence in the Middle East, the implosion of Libya and lessons for Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey, why Turkey has been soft on ISIS and why solutions can only be found in s...

Janeane Garofalo reflected on the new war in Iraq and Syria, pro-war pundits and the military industrial complex, changing Democratic opinions on the Middle East, is America at eternal war? Why war criminals get away with it in America, war crimes and the right to be forgotten, how many civilians...

New York University Sociology Graduate student and Jacobin contributing writer Jonah Birch explains where the myth of the “culture of poverty” comes from, the roots of the culture of poverty idea, prison and African American men, racial discrimination  and incarceration, the myths of African Amer...

Investigative Journalist Chris Woods explains when the Iraqi Government requested that the Obama Administration bring drones back to Iraq, the higher rates of airstrikes in Iraq, the Libya model and the fight against Isis, what US airstrikes have focused on so far, who controls the Mosul Dam now?...

Timothy Karr Senior Director of Strategy at Free Press explains Internet Slow Down Day, why the FCC keeps getting Net Neutrality wrong, the telecom industry and FCC revolving door, why we need common carrier status, why the phone and cable lobby want to sell you more than an Internet connection, ...

Journalist Patrick Cockburn explains how Isis developed out of Syria and Iraq, the origins of Isis in Al Quada in Iraq, Sunni repression in post Saddam Iraq, what Hillary Clinton misses about arming moderate rebels in Syria, what regional powers support Jihadi fighters, the strategic miscalculati...

Middle East analyst and commentator Holly Dagres explains why US airstrikes against ISIS are needed, the unique threat that ISIS poses to Iraq, the failures of Nouri al Maliki’s leadership, sectarian violence and Iraq’s future and what are the best policy options moving forward.

Political strategist and weekly guest Cliff Schecter explains why President Obama is the fourth President in a row to bomb Iraq, the human rights crisis in Iraq, the potential goals of military strikes in Iraq, why humanitarian intervention might be justified to save the Yazdi community, the aust...

Journalist Rafia Zakaria explains the brutal track record of the Taliban and ISIS in attacking women, the all female ISIS brigade that monitors women, medieval imagery, Islamic insurgencies, the Orientalist imagination and how to address global human rights systemically.

Professor Juan Cole author of the new book  The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East, explains why most Muslims do not take ISIS proclaiming a Caliphate seriously, the shifting politics of Kurdish independence, why oppression of Sunnis is fueling the crisis in Iraq...

UN Dispatch’s Mark Leon Goldberg explains how Iraq’s government Nouri al Maliki, has been unable to stop growing violence in the country, the violent extremism of ISIS and their political and religious goals, Iraq and Syria and the Sunni Shia divide, how wide is support for ISIS? Kurdish independ...

Citizen Radio co-host Allison Kilkenny:  explained where Occupy activists are making a huge difference, the growth of Occupy Our homes and Occupy SEC, the new movements for economic justice and the success of Occupy Sandy and Strike Debt.

Cliff Schecter: explained the ongoing implosion of the Republican Party, the House GOP strategy for more spending cuts, why Ted Cruz praising Jesse Helms should be treated the sam way Trent Lott praising Strom Thurmond, how the Bill De Blasio wins means a resurgence of an economically progressive...

Matt Apuzzo the co-author of Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD’s Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden’s Final Plot Against America: explained the roots of the NYPD’s spying program targeting Muslim communities across the city, the link between the CIA and domestic spying, how the NYPD spying unit opera...

Author of Lawrence In Arabia, Scott Anderson, explained: the slow death of the Ottoman Empire, the four distinct forces driving western intervention in the region, Lawrence’s guilt over his role in British imperialism, what compelled Lawrence of Arabia to turn against the British, the role of Eur...

American Prospect senior writer, Monica Potts: explained  historically dramatic examples of declining life expectancy, what’s driving reduce life spans in poor white women, the links between income, education and health, the importance of being exposed to healthier lifestyles and access to health...

The Nation’s John Nicholas: explained why Michael Bloomberg is upset of the success of Bill De Blasio’s run for Mayor of New York, why we need real progressive economic policies and the message the New York’s Mayors race will send to the rest of the country.

Cliff Schecter discussed: the Iranian president’s wishing of Jews a happy new year, pondered the chances of the Syria war resolution passing congress, why the Republican leadership holds no sway in the House, how losing the Syria vote would effect Obama’s poll numbers, why we never learn the less...

Journalist Ali Gharib: explained why the Obama Administration is panicking in making its case for war, how Congressional oversight has already slowed down the move towards intervention, why hawks don’t want to discuss Iraq or Afghanistan and what we can do to help the Syrian people.

Matt Duss of the Center For American Progress: explained how Syria’s uprising turned into civil war, the refugee crises outside of Syria’s borders, the role of climate change and economic stagnation in the Arab uprisings, Syria’s strategic importance to Iran, Russia and America, what can airstrik...

Rolling Stone’s, Matt Taibbi: explained the problem with the new student loan bill in Congress, why student loans lead to indentured servitude, how we could make college more affordable, why the student loan crises is like the housing crises and how student loans are crushing young people and the...

The Center For American Progress’s Ruy Teixeira: explained why raising the minimum wage is overwhelmingly popular, how the minimum wage splits the Republican coalition, how Democrats can can win on this issue and the importance of progressive economics for Democratic success.

Bill Scher debated Matt & Michael on NSA data mining, is the NSA’s surveillance legal?whether or not the program has been effective, has the monitoring been abused? and the role of private contractors in gathering intelligence.

Cliff Schecter, explained the multiple criminal investigations facing Michele Bachmann, her crazy resignation announcement, who is the craziest member of Congress, the conservative meltdown about working women, why the right turns economic exploitation into social divisions and John McCain sneaks...

Filmmakers George & Beth Gage, discussed their new documentary Bidder 70, explained Tim DeChristopher’s act of civil disobedience at an oil and gas auction in Utah, how public land across the country is threatened, why the auction Tim disrupted was found to be illegal, the farcical prosecutio...

Matt & Michael hosted today’s show. The American Independent’s Eli Clifton, explained evidence for chemical weapons deployments by the Assad regime in Syria, who the Syrian rebels are, why the neocon foreign policy approach persists in Washington and President Obama’s calculus on Guantanamo.

Journalist David Dayen, explained the bipartisan push to end to Big To Fail banking, why deeper financial reform is still needed, why the Obama Treasury department is standing in the way of genuine reform and with the retirement of Max Baucus will the Finance Committee get anymore progressive?

Professor Juan Cole gave a regional overview of recent events in the Middle East, cleared up some of the confusion on the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, described a poor security situation in Libya and noted that the transitional government is making slow progress there. Cole noted that th...

Syria and latest on Middle East jockeying with National Security Network Executive Director Heather Hurlburt and Matt Duss, Director of Middle East Progress at Center for American Progress.   Why Turkey must get involved, Russia’s role and the region’s sectarian divide.  Also, talking serious env...

Blogger, professor and Middle East specialist, Juan Cole on the regime crackdown in Syria, expulsion of Hamas and Afghanistan reaction to Qur’an burning.  Plus, Wikileaks’ massive email dump.  In the better half, Mitt Romney shows again he’s not a regular Joe and bad news for Murdoch and the Sun....